Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore on Sunday dissolved the 14th Punjab legislative Assembly after outgoing Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal submitted his resignation to him.
“In pursuance of powers conferred upon me by sub clause (b) of clause (2) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, I, VP Singh Badnore, Governor of the State of Punjab, hereby dissolve the 14th Punjab Vidhan Sabha with effect from the afternoon of March 12, 2017,” said the Governor in the order.
Badal had earlier met the Governor and submitted his resignation after his party suffered a loss in the Assembly polls, results of which were declared a day before.
The 89-year-old Akali leader along with his Deputy Chief Minister son and SAD president Sukhbir Badal went to the Raj Bhawan and handed over the resignation letter to the Governor.
Badal, a five-time Chief Minister, retained his lambi Assembly seat defeating Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh, who retained his traditional bastion, Patiala seat.
Before that, Punjab cabinet, which met under Badal for the last time, recommended dissolution of the Assembly, paving the way for the constitution of the new legislature.
Earlier, Badal held a cabinet meeting in which a resolution was passed to dissolve the Assembly. The meeting was attended by Sukhbir Badal, NK Sharma and Madan Mohan Mittal.
The Cabinet recommended the dissolution of 14th Punjab Vidhan Sabha under the provision of Article 174 (2) (b) of the Constitution, to the Punjab Governor, said an official spokesperson.
“The Cabinet authorised the Chief Minister to send this proposal to the Governor of Punjab for dissolution of 14th Vidhan Sabha with immediate effect,” he said.
After ruling the state for a decade, the SAD-BJP alliance could manage only 18 seats, comprising 15 of Akali Dal and three by the saffron party in the 117-member Vidhan Sabha.
Congress ended the SAD-BJP combine’s 10-year regime by registering a thumping win by bagging 77 seats, one short of two-third majority.
Debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) managed to get 20 seats, while two seats went into the kitty of its ally lok Insaf Party (lIP).